1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data compression, specifically to the compression and decompression of video images.
2. Description of Prior Art
In the last few years, there have been tremendous advances in the speed of computer processors and in the availability of bandwidth of worldwide computer networks such as the Internet. These advances have led to a point where businesses and households now commonly have both the computing power and network connectivity necessary to have point-to-point digital communications of audio, rich graphical images, and video. However the transmission of video signals with the full resolution and quality of television is still out of reach. In order to achieve an acceptable level of video quality, the video signal must be compressed significantly without losing either spatial or temporal quality.
A number of different approaches have been taken but each has resulted in less than acceptable results. These approaches and their disadvantages are disclosed by Mark Nelson in a book entitled The Data Compression Book, Second Edition, published by M & T Book in 1996. Mark Morrision also discusses the state of the art in a book entitled The Magic of Image Processing, published by Sams Publishing in 1993.